Powell held a press conference Monday afternoon in the wake of his meetings with Chinese Vice-President Hu Jintao and Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan Monday morning.

Powell, who was on his fourth China visit, said that fact itself "shows how much importance the United States attaches to China".

He said US Vice President Dick Cheney's upcoming China visit in April "will further the high-level dialogue" between the world's most populous and the world's most developed nations. "Bilateral relations have really moved to a new level," he said.

Powell said the two sides discussed international areas of common concern, including the nuclear issue in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Iraq issue.

As permanent members of the UN Security Council, the United States had worked closely with China over Iraq to ensure Iraq did not continue to threaten international peace and security, he said.

The United States appreciated China's consistent message to the DPRK and the two countries shared the goal of a diplomatic and peaceful resolution to the DPRK issue, Powell said.

He said they had also discussed such issues as global non-proliferation and both agreed to continue to cooperate on anti-terrorism and AIDS.

Powell also conveyed his condolences to victims of Monday morning's earthquake in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in northwest China.

He also met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin after the press conference. Then Powell left Beijing for the Republic of Korea, the last leg on his East Asian trip.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2003)